


Simple Beginnings

by vassalady



Series: Simple Complexities [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 07:08:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11202972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vassalady/pseuds/vassalady
Summary: The first big case Shield Investigations gets is along their usual fare: scoundrel husbands and cats. However, Steve finds more to relate to in this case than he expected.





	Simple Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Noir](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11202345) by [kath_ballantyne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kath_ballantyne/pseuds/kath_ballantyne). 



> Before proceeding, please follow the inspired by link to Kath's lovely art! I am so honored to be able to write something based on it.
> 
> While this works as a sweet stand-alone relationship fic, it's the first in a two part series. The second, Complex Endings, will be plot- and mystery-heavy. I hope you are able to read and enjoy both!
> 
> Thank you to the Cap RBB mods for organizing this, and thank you to kath_ballantyne for your amazing artwork and allowing me to build off of it. Thank you to my friend K for a last minute beta save!
> 
> Please be aware that this fic contains brief references to parent death and the Holocaust.

The war was over. They were not the only ones to come home exhausted and haunted. However, Steve Rogers had two things no one else did: Peggy Carter and Bucky Barnes.

With those two beside him, he knew they would get through. He knew they would survive.

\--

When they first found the space, Bucky grimaced. “Sure we can’t do better than this?”

Calling it a hole in the wall would be polite, Steve conceded. But he liked it. They could fix it up.

“And the location is perfect,” Peggy said, catching Bucky by the hand and leading him across the room to the second of two outside-looking windows. She first gestured to the scenic brick wall. “Private enough for clients to feel safe with disclosure and close enough,” she pulled open the window and stuck her head out, “to the fire escape that we can make a speedy escape if need be.”

Steve joined them at the window. The fire escape was a few feet away, but if one were desperate, they could jump it.

“Mmm, I definitely see what you mean by it being private enough,” Bucky said, and then Peggy gasped. A second later, Bucky’s hand moved to Steve’s ass as he received a similar fondle.

Steve blushed, and Peggy glared, but they both had silly grins on their faces that matched Bucky’s.

They spent days washing, scrubbing, painting, and rearranging again and again. They fixed, rebuilt, and reworked until their hands blistered. When their money ran out, Peggy took her grandfather’s heirloom watch and returned with a purse full of money.

They bought a beautiful new windowed door and knocked out part of the wall beside it for an interior window.

At last, Steve, Peggy, and Bucky stood side by side just inside the door of their office. It was small, but, as the interior window read, it was theirs: Shield Investigations - Offices of Carter, Rogers, and Barnes.

Peggy linked arms with Steve and Bucky at either side of her. “Well, boys, are you ready?”

“I don’t know about us,” Bucky said, “but this place damn well is.” 

:”I hear ya,” Steve murmured.

Peggy laughed and a moment later, she was pulling them both in toward the center of the office. She paused by their old radio, crackling as it was, and tuned it until soft music played. 

Steve let himself be swept up by her joy. They danced, all three of them, stepping far too quickly for the sedate music. None of them minded. Twirling, spinning, dipping, and knocking into one another, they collapsed into a laughing heap on the floor.

As Steve caught his breath, he said, “Can we really do this?”

He felt first Peggy’s hand and then Bucky’s rest comfortingly on his torso. A second later, he took them both in his and lifted them to his lips.

“Yes,” Peggy said. “I know we can.”

“Hey, with someone as sexy as me around, we’re a shoe in,” Bucky said.

They laughed again.

\--

“That does it,” Bucky said, banging the door open as he entered, “no more cat cases.”

Peggy, who had been (very cutely, Steve thought) dozing on her desk, cheek pressed against the wood, jerked up suddenly. “What?” She rubbed at her eyes while Bucky stormed around her desk to Steve’s.

“So did the cat run away or…?” Steve prompted. He leaned back in his chair. Bucky sat down on the edge of Steve’s desk, tossing his hat alongside him. 

“They both own it,” Bucky said. He growled and crossed his arms. “Cat’s been two timing on Mrs. O’Malley from the beginning with her neighbor, Mr. Duncan. Each swore up and down that they had found Christophe or Mr. Roosevelt, if you ask Mr. Duncan, in an alley three years ago and have been taking care of him ever since.”

“How, Peggy began slowly, “do two people raise the same cat without knowing about the other?”

“That’s what I asked!” Bucky leaned back until he could easily fall back onto Steve’s desk. A few papers crinkled, but they were only scrap Steve had been doodling on. It was a slow day. 

Steve found himself staring down at Bucky’s chest as Bucky continued. “But I spent hours with both of them, and the cat seems to have eaten dinner at one and then promptly eaten dinner at the other for years.”

Steve took advantage of Bucky’s position to let his fingers run along Bucky’s lapel. “I feel sorry for the cat.”

Bucky cocked an eyebrow at Steve. “Why’s that?”

“It sounds like it just wanted a lot of love, got it, and now faces losing it.”

Peggy, who had joined them by the desk, leaned in and wrapped her arms around Steve. “Don’t tell me you want to adopt it.”

“I’m not saying-”

Before he could finish, there was a sharp rap at the door.

Bucky sat up. Steve moved to stand, but Peggy was already half way across the office. She opened the door to a richly dressed woman, all fur, pearls, and silk. Peggy welcomed her warmly. “Please, step this way, madam.”

“Thank you.” The woman’s voice was surprisingly high. She wasn’t an old woman, but she had a maturity that underlined just how young Peggy actually was, no matter her own elegant demeanor.

Steve gestured to the seat in front of his desk. He scooted over, although Bucky made no move off the desk. Peggy took up position behind them.

Again, she spoke first. “What brings you here to us today, Mrs…?”

“Mrs. Arbogast. Mrs. Bambi Arbogast,” the woman said, “though I shudder to think that I should bear that man’s name any longer.”

Steve shared a look with the other two.

“Tell me, Mrs. Arbogast,” Bucky said, in his smoothest voice, “what has that good-for-nothing done?”

They had dealt with a few cheating husbands in the past. They were not the most pleasant of cases, but Steve was willing to bet Bucky would take almost anything over cats today.

That was when, of course, Mrs. Arbogast said, “He’s stolen my cat.”

Although Bucky’s smile did not fade, Steve could see the tension in his body.

Maybe they would let Bucky sit this one out.

“My cat, Lady Rachel Diamondback,” Mrs. Arbogast continued, “and her collar valued at five hundred thousand dollars.”

Steve stared. Peggy’s elbow bumped into him. Bucky slipped and caught himself awkwardly before he could fall to the floor.

“Five hundred thousand?” Steve said in a rough gasp. “How-?”

Mrs. Arbogast waved a hand dismissively. “Diamonds, mostly. And now the cat, my husband, and the collar have simply vanished without a trace.”

Before Steve could ask anything more, Peggy’s hand was on his shoulder. “Excuse me,” she said, “how do you know your husband is the culprit?”

“Oh, he’s been stealing money from me since I married him last year. Little amounts, you know, enough that I could indulge him.” Her smile was coy as she flicked her eyes at the hand Peggy rested on Steve’s shoulder. “Men are very worth it at times.”

Steve didn’t know what to say. Bucky didn’t say a word, either, opting to stand and stare with raised eyebrows instead. Thankfully, Peggy managed to keep herself together.

When she asked why Mrs. Arbogast didn’t report the theft to the police, she scoffed and said, “And pay taxes on it? My dear, that defeats the point of it all in the first place.”

Although Shield Investigations was not scraping by, their business didn’t turn that great a profit on wandering husbands and cats. The mere idea of a diamond-studded cat collar was nearly inconceivable to Steve. While this was yet another wandering husband plus a cat, Mrs. Arbogast could pay and pay well. This was their first major case.

The others recognized it, too.

Bucky collected himself and turned on the charm once again. He was good at getting money from those who could afford it, and Mrs. Arbogast proved susceptible to his charms and flirtations.

Steve was only a little jealous.

\--

With little else to do, they all focused on the Arbogast case. Their first step, finding Dennis Arbogast, proved a greater challenge than they had thought. It took over a week before they found any clue at all.

When they did find him, it was under a different name.

A fog rolled in that night, blanketing the streets of New York until they were choked by it. Steve followed Peggy and Bucky toward their rendezvous with Dennis Arbogast. He could hear the sounds of the late night city around him but saw few people. He shivered and pulled his coat closer.

They waited under the street lamp outside the bar. Their patience was rewarded when their man came stumbling out, drunk but not slovenly so. He sung just loud enough for Steve to catch it. He recognized the tune. It was an Irish lullaby his mother had once sung to him.

Dennis sang it much more quickly and with gusto.

They followed Dennis through the streets. His drunken signing covered their footsteps and made it simple to follow him in the thick fog. At last, he led them to a worn-down tenement building. 

Too conspicuous for all three to follow, Steve kept pace with Dennis as he made his way up the building. On the top floor, he stopped. Steve stayed one level beneath him on the stairs, looking through a crack. He watched as Dennis rapped on the door. After a moment, a young man answered. 

“They all asleep?” Dennis said.

“Yes,” the man replied. 

Dennis chuckled and then pulled the other man to him. Their lips met, someone gave a little groan, and then they slipped inside the door together.

As they did so, Steve caught one last sentence.

“You don’t know how much I’ve missed this,” Dennis said, and then the door closed.

Steve felt his cheeks burn from the sight of the encounter. He had recognized that kiss. It was the kiss he saw Bucky and Peggy give each other. It was the kiss they each gave him. Passion, love, and contentment, all rolled into one little physical interaction.

Part of Steve was touched by the scene. Part of him was disappointed that Dennis had swindled Mrs. Arbogast. Part of him wished they hadn’t found him at all.

Something must have shown on his face when he returned to the Peggy and Bucky. Before he could say a word, Bucky volunteered to keep watch and sent Peggy and Steve home.

In the morning, they would confront their target.

Steve fell asleep in Peggy’s arms, her hands stroking his back soothingly.

\--

Dennis Arbogast did not exist. Dennis Dunphy, former boxer, knocked out in round three of his final match in 1941, did. Bucky gave them a call in the morning; Dennis had not yet left. They were on track.

The fog had lifted to a bright, sunny morning. Bucky looked tired, but the good weather cheered him. In the morning light, they could only greet him with a quick squeeze of his hand. It would do. Home would always wait for them.

As they made their way up the stairs, the man Steve had seen the night prior passed them on his way down. He smiled and said hello. A small stone of guilt worked its way into Steve’s stomach as he politely smiled back.

Dennis did not answer the door. Instead, a girl, maybe sixteen or seventeen, opened it. She looked at them solemnly for a moment. “Yes?” she said at last.

Peggy stepped forward. She offered a warm smile to the girl. “Hello, dear. We’re here to see Dennis. Dennis Dunphy? Is he in?”

The girl murmured, “One moment, please.” Unlike her one word greeting, this was enough to catch her German accent.

Steve and Bucky exchanged looks. 

Dennis came to the door. He was dressed down in an undershirt and slacks, suspenders falling off to the sides. He yawned with the back of his hand raised to his mouth, looking comical with his bushy red beard and matching tousled hair.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said. “Late night, if you know what I mean. How can I help you folks?”

Unlike the girl, he sounded as American as Steve and Bucky.

Peggy held out her hand. “Peggy Carter, private investigator. These are my colleagues, Mr. Steve Rogers and Mr. James Barnes.”

Dennis’s brow came together. However, he took her hand and said, “Dennis Dunphy.” He glanced between the three of them. “Can I ask what you need?”

“We’ve come to talk,” Peggy continued, “about a cat.”

Dennis’s face whitened. It made his hair all the more red. “Ah, uh, yes. You, uh, should probably come in, then.” He stepped aside. “Anna! Is there any coffee left?”

The room they entered was small. A few chairs sat around a table, and there was a sofa pushed up against the window next to a sink. On the sofa, a little girl of eight or so kicked her legs in the air as she colored. She looked up at them and grinned before going back to her notebook.

The girl from before stuck her head out of another room. “Only instant. Shall I make some?” Her gaze fell on Steve, Peggy, and Bucky. She did not smile.

“Three cups if you don’t mind?”

Anna shook her head. At Dennis, she genuinely smiled. “One moment, please.”

“Thank you, dear.” Dennis pulled two chairs from the dining table before going to the little girl on the couch. “Hey, Bernie,” he said, picking her up off the sofa and setting her standing on the floor, “can you go play in the bedroom?”

“But Dennis, I don’t want to-” she began, but Dennis shushed her with a look. She pouted, but she took her coloring things out. Her voice held no trace of an accent.

Dennis gestured to the chairs and the sofa. “Please. Take a seat.”

Bucky chose a chair while Steve and Peggy took the sofa. Although small, the place was tidy. Steve thought of his own childhood home with his mother. It had been slightly smaller than this, but there had only been the two of them. 

It made him like Dennis more by that basis alone. Irrational though it was, Steve could not fight off the feeling. He tried to remember this man had robbed their client. In the warm, welcoming home, it was a challenge.

“I assume Bambi sent you?” Dennis said. He turned his own chair around and sat with his arms crossed over the back.

“Considering your reaction, you must have been expecting us,” Peggy said. 

Dennis sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I hoped no one would.” He shook his head and then said, “Bambi and I… We had an understanding, you see.”

“An understanding?” Bucky snorted. “What kind of understanding creates fraud?”

“I-”

Dennis cut off when Anna came in the room with three cups. She passed them around. Bucky’s and Peggy’s thanks went unanswered. When Steve took his and thanked her with a broad smile, her cheeks reddened just slightly.

Steve felt his own warm.

“Anna, could you check on the kids?” 

“But I-” she began. Dennis shook his head once. 

“I know. Please.”

Amma pursed her lips and glanced between Steve, Peggy, and Bucky, before she nodded and left.

“Kids?” Peggy asked.

“There’s just the three. Anna, Bernie, Max.” Dennis’s voice turned fierce as he said, “They don’t have anything to do with this. I need you to understand that.”

Peggy, as placating as she could be, said, “They’re children. Our interest isn’t with them.”

This calmed Dennis. He relaxed his posture and looked at the floor.

“It was… payment,” Dennis said at last. “I took what I needed, she took what she needed from me. As I said, an understanding.”

Steve felt the room was suddenly too small. The implication of Dennis’s words didn’t sit well with him. Mrs. Arbogast had implied, but Steve had believed that to only be harmless flirting.

“No understanding includes a five hundred thousand dollar collar,” Bucky said. His tone was sharper than Steve thought he needed to be.

Dennis nodded. “That… was a mistake.”

“A rather convenient mistake.”

Dennis stood abruptly. “What do you know?” he said. He wasn’t shouting, but there was a bitter bite to his words. “Do you think someone like me, someone like- like my family could just pawn off a thing like that?”

He clenched his fists, and Steve and Bucky were up in an instant. Peggy remained sitting, calmer than the other two could be.

“Give us the cat, and we can settle this without any fuss,” Peggy said. She sipped her coffee.

Peggy didn’t drink coffee, not really. Now, she used the drink as well as she would a weapon.

Dennis calmed down. He sat again, running his hands through his hair. “It's complicated."

"Explain then," Steve said. "Please." He and Bucky carefully took their own seats again.

Dennis looked at him for a long moment. Then he said, "Rachel - the cat - followed me home. My ki-... My friend's kids, they love her."

“She isn't yours.”

“I know, I know. But they've... Well, they've all been through a lot. And i can't take her away from them."

Steve looked to Peggy and Bucky. Maybe the cat wasn't so important. Maybe if the cat had... Well, if they said they could not find the cat...

Peggy had the same thought. "We need the collar,” she said. “What you do with the cat is your own business, but we will be needing the collar."

Dennis closed his eyes. "I don't know where it is."

"What?" This was Bucky as he stood once more.

"She wasn't wearing it, when she followed me."

Bucky took a step forward. The room was small enough that it brought him right above Dennis. “If you're lying, you'll-”

“Get away from him!”

A boy, perhaps only thirteen, stood glaring from the doorway to the bedroom.

Anna appeared behind him. She took his arm. "Max!"

He jerked out of her grasp. He, too, had a German accent, but it seemed different than Anna's. "You hurt him, I hurt you."

"Max," Dennis said, voice quiet. "It's alright."

"It is not alright!" Max pointed a finger at Bucky. “They are not taking you away!”

“No one is taking him away son,” Steve said. “We simply need-”

“Max.” Dennis stood and walked to Max. He placed his hands on Max's shoulders. “I am not going anywhere. I promise.”

“You can't promise me that,” Max said.

Dennis did not reply for a moment. “No. But I can promise I'll try.”

This was a moment they were intruding on. No matter what Dennis had or had not done, there was something here that made Steve ache.

But they had a job to do. 

"When did you last see the collar?"

There was a meow, and then Bernie came out carrying Rachel like a baby. The cat did not seem to mind.

As Max tried to push Bernie back out of the room, Dennis, distracted by the action, said, “Um, Rachel had it on back at Bambi’s? Haven’t seen it since I left.”

“Can you verify-”

Bernie pushed past Max and ran up to Steve and Peggy. “What are you talking about?”

Peggy smiled indulgently at the girl. “Your cat used to have a pretty collar. Have you seen it?” She scratched Rachel under the chin.

“Oh, yeah,” Bernie said with a grin.

Steve’s heart sank. He’d wanted to believe Dennis.

Bernie pointed behind her where the rest of her patchwork family stood. “Max has it. He said it was too tight for Rachel and so we took it off.”

The room was silent. Slowly, all eyes fell onto Max.

He turned bright red. “That was a secret, Bernie! You promised me!”

“No, I didn’t,” she said lightly. “You just told me not to say anything. It’s Rachel’s anyway.”

The room erupted into noise. Anna and Dennis, while not quite yelling, were close to it. Max did yell, as did Bernie, and the cat squirmed out of Rachel’s arms and dashed away.

Steve didn’t know what to do. He stood, just as Peggy did, and before they could take a single step, the front door opened.

Everyone fell silent once more.

In the doorway stood the man Dennis had kissed. He wasn’t very tall, but he had a strong build and carried himself in a way that Steve recognized as military training. He carried in one arm a sack with groceries, and he took a moment to survey the scene.

“Dennis,” he said at last, “who are our guests?” It was no threat. The level of polite and genuine curiosity charmed Steve.

The demeanor of the household changed instantly. Max still frowned and grumbled, Bernie had forgotten the argument entirely and went chasing after the cat again, and Anna smiled and took the groceries. It wasn’t from fear, but from love and respect. Something tight clenched in Steve’s chest.

Through their work, they had seen many unhappy households. This, however, was the first that so precisely mirrored his own with Peggy and Bucky.

There was love and hope in this home.

The man introduced himself as Arnie Roth. With only a few words, Max reluctantly agreed to fetch the collar. It was large and gaudy and certainly hadn’t been very comfortable for the cat, but that was not the reason Max took it.

“It’s difficult for them,” Arnie said, as he replaced Peggy’s coffee with tea to her immense pleasure. He glanced back through toward the kitchen where the three were putting away the groceries. “Anna and Max were orphaned with no family. Bernie’s parents died while in the service. When I came home from the war, Anna and Max came with me, and Bernie moved in with us as well.” He sighed. “Max especially wants to gain some sort of control. I’m sorry for all this.”

There was much Steve wanted to ask, but it wasn’t his place. He could not ask Arnie to recount the horrors his fostered children experienced. He could not ask Dennis why he sold himself to a rich woman through a fraudulent marriage. He could not ask either of them if they regretted their actions.

The choices they made for better or worse were theirs. The collar had been returned. A family was reunited. There were things that others may have demanded: the cat to be returned or Dennis to be punished. Steve could not see the point in those.

They bid their farewells, and as they left, Steve said to Dennis, “If you ever need any help, you only need to ask.”

Dennis smiled warmly at him. “Thank you.”

With a nod toward Arnie, he said, “I know what that kind of love feels like.”

Dennis’s surprise was clear on his face. A moment later, it faded back to warmth. “If you ever would like to join us for dinner, you know where to find us.”

It was Steve’s turn to say thank you.

\--

Mrs. Arbogast was delighted to receive the collar back. The truth they gave her was not entirely accurate. The cat had not disappeared. The collar had not been almost pawned. Dennis Arbogast had not run off to Wisconsin with his mistress.

For all parties involved, however, it was a satisfactory explanation.

“I reiterate,” Bucky said, from his spot on their footstool, “that I will never do another case involving a cat again.”

“It was lucrative,” Peggy pointed out. She sat on the sofa with a sigh. She placed her feet in his lap, and he began rubbing them absently.

Steve came up behind her. “Lucrative or not, Bucky may have a point.”

Peggy snorted. “Had anyone else taken that woman’s case, and our dear Mr. ‘Arbogast’ would likely be behind bars.”

“Maybe,” Bucky conceded. “But it makes me want something cut and dry like a good old fashioned murder.”

“Oh, don’t kid,” Peggy said, kicking him lightly. She smiled, however, and she turned that smile up toward Steve. He leaned in and kissed her slowly.

What would he do without her?

Bucky coughed, and Steve broke away to see he had crawled up next to Peggy. Bucky’s lips met his, and Steve sighed into the kiss.

What would he do without him?

Peggy pulled Bucky to her then, and Steve watched, enraptured, as their lips met. 

“You know,” he said, “I think we can do this. As long as we have each other.”

The two people he loved most in the world each wrapped an arm around Steve to pull him in.

The couch became far too cramped very quickly. Fumbling at each other’s clothes, they moved as an awkward jumble to the bedroom. Vests, a skirt, and ties trailed on the floor behind them.

“I want to watch a while,” Steve breathed against Peggy’s skin. “Please?”

She brought his face up to hers for another kiss. “Okay.”

He made his way to the upholstered armchair. He already felt hot and breathless. He licked his lips in anticipation.

Peggy stood in only her brassiere and panties while Bucky unceremoniously shucked off his trousers. They were gorgeous. Steve’s fingers itched for pencil and paper. He reached down to the side of the chair and found the spare he kept there.

For a long time, Peggy and Bucky just luxuriated in each other’s touches. They kissed leisurely, hands trailing up and down their bodies. They fit so well together. The roundness of Bucky’s chest and the little bit of belly he denied gaining complimented the roundness of Peggy’s breasts, hips, and buttocks. As Steve drew, they were all curves, intertwining together.

There was a gasp, and he looked up from the page to see Bucky on his knees. Peggy’s panties were on the floor beside her, and Bucky buried his head between her legs. 

Steve turned to a new page to draw this. 

Peggy’s chorus of moans and gasps urged Steve on. He outlined and sketched and filled in detail as Peggy’s climax drew closer. He paused to watch her crest over the edge, her toes curling and her fingers digging into Bucky’s hair.

“You want to join in yet?” Bucky asked.

Steve ached. His pants were tight, and every sensitive part of his body begged him to say yes. But they were so beautiful.

“Not yet.” His voice came out in a rasp.

He watched and sketched as Peggy and Bucky continued. They were teasing each other now, and they switched positions almost quick enough that Steve felt like he was in a drawing course once again. However, no drawing course ever had Peggy’s fingers fondling over Bucky’s sac, or Bucky kissing down between Peggy’s breasts.

Steve wanted. He set his sketchpad aside.

They waited for him to reach the edge of the bed where they lay. Bucky helped Steve out of his pants and underwear as Peggy watched this time. Bucky pulled Steve in for a long, wet kiss. Then, he felt fingers dance at the small of his back.

His eyes met Peggy’s. She grinned as her fingers moved lower. “Come here, Steve,” she said, voice husky.

Steve complied.

He broke open under their touch. Every gentle stroke, every gentle breath against his skin, sent him spiraling with desire. Just a little more here. Just a little more there. He wanted to connect with them body and soul.

It was cheesy. But who said a man in love couldn’t be cheesy? Bucky always did tell Steve he had an artist’s soul. It gave him the right.

He gasped as Peggy’s fingers widened. He ground down against them as Bucky supported him. He kissed Bucky like he was drowning as pleasure washed over him.

Long after, when they were all spent, they curled up together, Steve on one side of Peggy, Bucky on the other, their arms crossed over her body. She snuggled her face closer into Steve’s chest. 

“Mmm, can’t we just stay like this?” she said.

“We’d miss out on food,” Bucky said. “I for one am a big fan of food.”

“Then you can go and get it and bring it back for me and Steve.”

Bucky scowled. “Did I say I volunteered to be the breadwinner?”

“Come on, Buck,” Steve said, stroking Peggy’s hair, “you know Peggy just thinks you would look cute in an apron.”

Her head popped up. “I very much would, you know.”

Bucky, cheeks red, which Steve counted as a success, muttered, “Maybe.”

\--

Years later, Steve would recall that night and smile ruefully. The murder would come, yes. And it would change their lives, for better and worse. What would never change, however, no matter the time, were the feelings the three had for each other. They would never lose that deep love, that deep need, for one another.

They would always be Carter, Rogers, and Barnes, until death they do part.

\--

_Coda_

A month later, as Steve was doing the fascinating spectacle of paperwork while Peggy and Bucky were out on the job, a knock came at the door. When he answered, he was delighted to see Dennis’s form fill the doorway.

“Hope you don’t mind,” Dennis said, stepping in. He took off his hat and held it between tight fingers. “Wasn’t sure if the offer was genuine.”

“I wouldn’t have made it if it weren’t.”

Dennis sat awkwardly in the chair across from Steve’s desk. Steve took his own seat, and frowned. “So I take it this isn’t a social visit?”

“Ah, no,” Dennis said. He chewed his lip for a moment. “Look, I don’t have much to pay you. I mean, I have a little from street fights, but they don’t pay as well as the real ones, and with vision only in one eye-”

Steve held up a hand. “Please don’t worry about cost. For someone I hope to be a friend, it would be my pleasure to help.”

Dennis grinned, and it lit up his whole face in the most delightful fashion. He quickly grew serious once more. “I think Max is in trouble. Someone named Stryker seems to have a pretty keen interest in him.”

As Steve encouraged Dennis to continue, he thought of how pleased Bucky would be that this case involved not a single cat or husband.

Steve was simply pleased to be able to help.


End file.
